


West Side Story but Riff and Bernardo are in Love

by orphan_account



Category: West Side Story (1961)
Genre: Angst, F/M, Gangs, Gay, Homophobia, M/M, More tags to be added, musical nerd alert
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-08
Updated: 2017-11-14
Packaged: 2019-01-31 03:29:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,156
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12667308
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Happy (late) Birthday!!





	1. Act #1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [FordPrefect](https://archiveofourown.org/users/FordPrefect/gifts).



> Happy (late) Birthday!!

ACT #1

  
[5:00pm]

The streets were blaring with noise. Cars honking young children screaming and policemen scolding. In the basketball court stood a group of young men loitering around. The youngest, Baby John, was talking some crazy nonsense of comic books and action figures. No one was really paying attention. One of the taller, buffer boys glanced away before nudging a brown-haired boy. The PRs were here. Suddenly, all of the boys directed their vision to the group of darker skinned boys. The leader Riff, scoffed as he walked away, hitting shoulders with one of the Puerto Ricans, Bernardo. The two are both leaders of their separate gangs and practically hate each other’s guts. They never miss a chance to give the other a hard punch in the arm.

It seemed as though the two groups were always fighting and causing trouble. That’s just how they are. Some people think it’s because they’re teen boys who just haven’t figured out their pent-up emotions and need to let out that frustration with violence.

Anyway, Riff and the boys strolled away. But of course, one of the Jets had to have run into a Shark. And there starts another fight. The two boys rolled on the ground, swinging punches until another Shark came in to stop it. From then on, more Jets and Sharks joined in on the fight.

And of course, Bernardo went straight to Riff.

Riff had a cocky smirk on his face as he marched up to Bernardo. The Puerto Rican threw his fist at the white boy. It hit him right on his face, but he didn’t show the pain that it brought to his soon to be swelling cheek.

As he quickly regained his composure, Riff tried to hit him, but Bernardo ducked and grabbed him around his waist, swinging him around. The boy struggling to get free. Throwing an elbow back, Riff managed to get free from his opponent's arms and fell to the ground. Quickly getting back to his feet, Riff took his chance to hit Bernardo in the gut and became instantly satisfied as he heard a choked up groan come from the Puerto Rican. All boys continued to fight until a loud whistle sounded close by, then a couple of policemen appeared from behind one of the many concrete buildings.

“Knock it off! Settle down!” The older cop yelled. A man that both the Sharks and Jets were familiar with, Officer Schrank.

“Why if it isn't Lieutenant Schrank!” Riff said, a seemingly innocent smile on his face as he turned to look at the Jet boys.

“Top of the day Lieutenant Schrank!” The Jet boys responded.

“And Officer Krupke!” Bernardo added as a younger officer followed behind Lieutenant Schrank.

“Top of the day Officer Krupke!” The Sharks all said.

“Boy, what you Puerto Ricans have done to this neighborhood. Which  
one of 'em clobbered ya, A-rab?”

Riff tried his best not to roll his eyes. He knew well that the Puerto Ricans were just like the Jets, but just from a different culture. He knew that they were treated differently by the police and quite unfairly at that. He had been taught all his life that foreigners that come to America were trouble, but somewhere deep inside him had to disagree with that statement. He had to admit, there was a lot of times that his opinions didn’t match the majority.

At the moment, Officer Krupke was trying to get some dirt on the Puerto Ricans for picking on A-Rab. Riff quickly thought up an excuse that doesn’t sound too obvious that he’s trying to help the Puerto Ricans.

“As a matter of factuality, sir, we suspicion the job was done by a cop.”

“Two cops!”

“Oh, at least!”

As other group members joined in, Riff felt that his plan had worked. Both gangs hate the cops, so defending each other from getting in trouble with the law isn’t unusual.

“Impossible!” Krupke yelled, a stern expression on his face. The scolding and teasing went on for a while before the Jets were finally left alone.

“They make a very nice couple!” A-Rab smirked and the jet boys snickered at the comment. but Riff. Instead, he clenched his fists and looked away momentarily.

“You hoodlums don't own the streets!” Action yelled, angered. Riff secretly thanked the gods for changing the subject so quickly.

  
You see, Riff has a secret. Actually, a lot of secrets. To start off, he didn’t want the Jets gang to happen. One of the only reasons that he was the leader of the Jets was because he knew if the wrong people lead it, then the Puerto Ricans would be doomed for sure. He didn’t want that to happen, and he didn’t want for the Puerto Ricans to be driven out of the city. And maybe it was also because he didn’t want to miss out on spending as much time as possible with Tony. Though he never told anyone before, Riff has had some strange feelings come to him whenever he had seen Tony. Whenever he’d see him, touch him, talk to him, he got a warm feeling inside of him. But he knew this wasn’t normal and it had to stop as soon as possible. So he started dating Velma. Those unknown feelings scared him. He knew that there were certain ways men were supposed to feel about other men, and those feelings were not one of them. So to cover them up or maybe even ward them away, he dated a hot, popular girl. Skinny, blonde haired, soft skinned, and beautiful. It was all a man could have wanted. But Riff wasn’t satisfied.

‘What’s so great about curves and pale soft skin anyway?’ He would think to himself. ‘What if I want a person with muscles and calloused hands?’

‘What if I want a boy?’ His mind even wandered as far as that, but he would shake his head with wide eyes and a nervous laugh. ‘No, no that’s disgusting. I… I wouldn’t ever like a guy that way’

Since then, Riff’s feelings for Tony had gone away, but every now and then, he just get’s a reminder of those feelings everytime he sees Bernardo. He doesn’t even know where it comes from. One second he’ll be glaring holes at the Puerto Rican, and then he’ll just get a soft spot in his heart where he just can’t make himself hate the other.  
But that weird issue is solved when the Puerto Rican then opens his mouth to talk. GOD, he is just so annoying! Riff would remind himself as he shook away those unwanted feelings. But he can’t help but suppress a smile every time he would get a slight response to his subtle flirting. Sometimes even a wink. What’s that even supposed to mean!?

Riff brought his head back into the conversation as Baby John exclaimed “Ouch!”  
  
“You shoulda done worse. Them PRs are the reason my old man's gone bust.”

“Who says?” Riff said. Sometimes he couldn’t help but question the Jets as to why they blame certain things on the Sharks, he understood that the Puerto Ricans took up their streets, jobs and could be a bit mouthy, but why blame them for things they weren’t responsible right-hand? They’re not as bad as the Jets make them out to be. It’s just that they’d all been taught otherwise. The Americans were brought up by racist families, all the Jets but Tony. That’s why Riff is so sensitive about the topic now. When he created the Jets, he too believed that the PRs were only troublesome immigrants that we’re taking over their homes, but after breathe moved in with Tony, he learned that that wasn’t the case.

While the Jets went on and on about how much they want to clobber the lousy PRs, Riff had to go along so that no one would suspect that he was quite neutral about the whole deal. He never really says any direct lie to the Jets because he never mentions how much HE hates the Sharks, how much HE wished for them to leave America.

Riff knew that it was bad to like guys, but he couldn’t help it! He had heard of kids being punished for being gay. There had even been anti-gay speeches and threats for being homosexual; people were even thrown in jail! But Riff knew that there was no way he could just stop being gay. Though he wanted to tell Tony, to tell someone of this realization, he knew it would end out badly. He had already been disowned by his parents just because they were suspicious of him being gay. He ran away to his uncle after they started taking him to therapy. But even that wasn’t enough. After his uncle found out about his sexuality, he treated him as if he were an old rag. Thrown around, hit, verbally and physically abused.  
That’s why he lives with Tony now. At the time, Tony realized the bruised and Riff’s ultimate change in personality. He allowed Riff to live with him without even asking questions. Not that Riff would have answered them, but either way, Riff finally felt wanted and just the slightest bit happier than what he has experienced in the past years. That’s most likely why he started to fall for Tony.

Back to real time, though. Riff planned on going to the dance at the gym to challenge the Puerto Ricans to a rumble. Not that he particularly wanted to, but he knew the gang was itching for a fight. If he didn’t satisfy these boy’s needs, then he would likely be thrown out of the Jets, even if he is the leader. So today, he even guaranteed the Jets that Tony would join back in for the dance tonight. He knew that, with Tony’s assistance, he will be able to carry on with more confidence. His best friend would definitely help a guy out. Or so he thought.

“Friga tiga tum Tony! Why not? ...You can't say ya won't, Tony boy, without at why not?”

  
“Why not?” The boy asks without looking up from the sign he was painting.

“Because it's me askin': Riff. Womb to tomb!”

“Sperm to worm!” Tony says with a smile while scanning his eyes over the sign. “You sure this looks like skywriting?”

“It's brilliant.” Riff waves his hand around.

“Twenty-seven years the boss has had that drugstore. I wanna surprise him with a new sign.”

“Tony, this is important!” He exclaims.

“Very important: Acemen, Rocketmen.”

“What's with you? Four and one-half year I live with a buddy and his family. Four and one-half years I think I know a man's character. Buddy boy, I am a victim of disappointment in you.”

“End your sufferin', little man. Why don't you pack up your gear and clear out?”

“'Cause your ma's hot for me.” He jokes until Tony grabs his arms and twists it behind his back. “No! 'Cause I hate livin' with my buggin' uncle UNCLE UNCLE!”

Tony releases him and sits back down and taking the white colored paintbrush back in his hand. Riff rubs his wrist as he paced around. “Come on, just come to the dance. For me?”

“I’ve already said it, Riff. I don’t want to be apart of the Jets gang. That was a thing of the past for me, so go on and play nice with the Jets.”

“Just do me this one favor, please Tony boy?” Riff was right about desperate now. He needed Tony to come to the dance, even if took begging on his knees to get him to come.

“Riff. No. I’m too preoccupied at the moment to go to the dance. But I promise next time’ll catch up with ya to go where ever.”

“Tony-”

“Gotta get back to work, see ya later!” And with that, Tony stood up and walked into the back room of Doc’s Drugstore. Riff ran his fingers through his light, curly hair. Now what?

Now he’s going to the dance without his best friend.

  
[10:00pm]

Walking into the gym, Velma clung to Riff’s arm. She giggled and whispered with friends as they all walked in with their own individual boys. Music was already blaring and a few unknown people were dancing. Velma pulled on Riff’s arm and they began to dance. One of the few things he enjoyed doing with Velma was dancing. He was quite good at dancing and so was Velma. In a way, it helped him let out his emotions with every step and every sway.

As he and his date danced, he momentarily forgot where he was and what he was there for until a group of Jet boys groaned around him. He stopped dancing after he heard a couple of girls whispering about the “dark girls” who had just entered.

“Those PRs‘re finally here” He heard Action mutter. Out of the corner of his eye, Riff saw Action drag Graziella to the side of the gym furthest from the Puerto Ricans. Riff pulled apart from Velma and lead her to her friends, leaving her to talk to the Jets.

“So what’s our plan, Riff?” Diesel asked urgently.

“Yeah, we gonna challenge em or not?” Snowboy added.

“Cool it, boys, they just got here. Wait till the time’s right, then we’ll talk. Until then, play nice with the PRs.” Riff said, patting the shoulders of the two boys. Then he walked to the front of the crowd of boys. There was a visible distance in between the Jets and Sharks. When he looked up, he saw Bernardo staring right back into his own eyes. Beside him, he felt one of the Jet boys tense up and take deep breaths. He could practically feel the hatred coming from the boys around him.

The Sharks were just as bad. Bernardo’s right-hand man was puffing out his chest from behind the tall boy. Tension was high in the room, almost enough to choke Riff to the extent that he can’t breathe. With a quick nod of his head, he went into the mass of people and his men followed close behind. He needed a break from this. This suffocating emotion. He turned to whoever was closest to him, Anybodys. She was leaning on the wall with her arms crossed.

“Hey, Anybodys,” Riff gestured for her to come over. Her head perked up and she hurried over to his side.

No one really knew it, but Riff enjoyed Anybodys’ company. She was a misfit, like him. She came from a rough background. Her mother is a widow and doesn’t have enough to provide for their family of three kids. Anybodys is the youngest. Her older brother is the star child and her sister is a prostitute. She wanted to be loved by her mother, so she acted like her brother, even wore his old clothing. But the plan backfired. Her mother wanted her to wear frilly dresses and do makeup, but by the time Anybodys realized this, she had already grown used to being a tomboy. Ans enjoyed it. So she went on with her life, trying to join the Jets. But the guys didn’t want a girl in their gang. Riff was open to the idea, but no one else was. Either way, she was really just like one of the guys.

“What do you think of the PRs?”

She laughed a bit, or maybe it was a scoff. “They’re lousy immigrants. And they're taking up our homes!”

“But don’t you think that they need somewhere to live too?” He tried to reason.

“They had one, and should have stayed there.” She deadpanned.

“Yeah, I guess…”

“Why’re you askin’ this? You sound a lil’ conflicted.”

“No, I’m just seein’ everyone’s opinions, that’s all.”

Eventually, Riff had had enough. Even Anybodys believed that the PRs don’t belong. Everyone around him was too negative. Suffocating. He needed a fresh breath of air. Or a drag of a cigarette. Both would do. So he nodded Anybodys, indicating that the conversation was over and whispered to Diesel that he’d be right back. Finally, he was walking out the stuffy gymnasium and taking a step into the cool, nighttime air. Deep breaths of the city atmosphere. Walking a little ways down the alleyways along the gym, he stuffed his hands into his dress pant pockets. Before long, he took a cigarette from his coat pocket and a lighter from another. Bringing the cigarette to his lips, he flicked the wheel of the lighter. Nothing, no spark or reaction. He tried again and still nothing happens. A few more tries and Riff had thrown the object to the ground and removed the cigarette from his lips. An aggravated sigh escaped his lips as he wandered through the dark alleyways. In the dark narrow passages of the allies, there were trashcans overflowing, litter falling from the inside and onto the ground. A few skittish cats fled the area that Riff was walking past, hissing as their backs arched.

In the silence of the dark, Riff heard a noise. A sniffle and a couple stuttered breaths. He was intrigued, curious as to what would be here in the alleyways behind the gymnasium. So he kept walking, going on and on until he was closer and closer to the noises. It now echoed in his ear. There was a dim, yellow light illuminating the way. In the shadows was a crumpled figure, a body curled into themselves. He walked closer and immediately recognized the shape and hair of the person. His breath was rugged and heavy. Riff began to walk faster and crouched next to the figure.

“Bernardo?” Riff asked as he crouched down. The figure flinched and scooched away from him.

“You’ve come to finish me off?” He asked.

“What? No, what happened?”

“Your boys attacked me the second I took a step outside.”

Riff stayed silent, a ghastly look on his face. Bernardo looked back down to the ground. It was then that Riff had realized there were almost-dried lines of tears on his face.

“You’ve been… crying?” He asked.

“No, I haven’t.”

“You’ve never cried because of a fight.”

Bernardo looked up at Riff with a cold stare, in his eyes, there was a hint of hesitation. “Maybe not a physical fight.”

As the words sunk in, Riff moved to sit next to Bernardo, leaning on the cold brick. He felt the other boy tense next to him. It was then that he realized what he meant.

“Did you fight with your girlfriend?”

“Why should I tell you?” He shot back. After that, Riff stayed silent. Bernardo looked to him out of the corner of his eye. “Yes, I did.”

“Why?”

“Why are you asking me all these questions?” He spat. “Aren’t you supposed to be with your gang, planning when you’re going to sack us next?”

And again, Riff stayed silent, hanging his head low. “Shouldn’t you be with them having fun at the dance?”

“No, because I fought with my god damn girlfriend. How am I supposed to have fun with a woman I don't love?!” He yelled before thinking through what he just said. He cursed under his breath. Riff’s eyes widened as he looked up to Bernardo. His eyes were glossy under the yellow light.

“You don’t love Anita?” Riff asked in a hushed tone.

After a moment of hesitation, Bernardo answered with a quick, “No.”

“I don’t love Velma.” Riff confessed, and it felt amazing to finally say it out loud. This time, it was Bernardo’s turn to look up surprised.

“Why not?”

“Why don’t you love Anita?”

“I asked you first.”

Riff paused for a second, tapping his fingers on the ground. “I love someone else.”

Bernardo just stared at him. Then looked up to the light above them.

“So what’s the deal with you and Anita.”

Bernardo turned his head down the dark alleyway. “I just don’t know what do do about it. Its constant fighting and never anything else.” His voice was strained.

“Talk to her about it. You two just need to communicate.”

“She won’t listen.”

“So make her listen. Make sure she hears your words and understands your point.”

The two stayed silent. From where they sat, they could hear the sirens of police cars, several honking of car horns. A few yells of a drunk man. Though the two stayed silent, the city night never really was quiet.

“Why are you helping me? Why are you talking to me like I’m one of your Jet boys?”

Riff only smiled. Shrugging, he said: “It’s just what I do.”

Bernardo seemed a bit skeptical of his words but nods his head anyway. A quiet thank you escaped his lips before Riff stood up, holding out a hand. Bernardo grabbed it and stood up.

“We’ve got a dance to return to.”

Bernardo nodded, “Yes.”


	2. Act #2

Act #2

 

 

_[7:00pm]_

“Hey, Doc! Tony here?” Riff yelled as he walked into the drugstore owned by the said man. 

“He’s on break at the moment, somewhere out back, I assume.” The older man said as he wiped down the counters.

Riff nodded as he snagged a coke bottle from the back and strolled out the back door. The sun was starting to set by now. Riff looked around a bit but only found the half-empty paint can, an almost finished sign and a paintbrush leaving white marks on the asphalt. No trace of Tony.

“He’s gotta be out here somewhere,” He muttered under his breath. Wandering around, he brushed his fingers over the sign that read ‘Doc’s Drugstore’. He smiled. “It really does look like skywritin’…” He said as if Tony were standing right there to hear his words. Standing up straight, he walked around the corner and there stood Tony, with a girl. A familiar girl. No, it couldn’t be.

They were kissing.

Tony and Velma stood behind Doc’s drugstore, kissing as though they were the only two people in the world. Riff dropped the glass coke bottle he was holding, betrayal in his eyes and look of bewilderment evident on his face. The bottle shattered on the ground, scattering pieces of thick glass and spilling the fizzy drink on the ground. The two separated immediately and turned around. Velma gasped and froze. Tony’s eyes grew wide and pushed Velma farther away from him.

“Riff, it’s not what it seems like, really!” Tony yelled as he began to take careful steps toward him. Riff only walked backward in return.

“Riff I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean it!” Velma cried out from behind Tony.

“You didn’t mean what? To make out with my best friend? And you Tony! I thought I could trust you and now I see you getting with Velma?!”

“Calm down, it was an accident,” Tony said, raising his hands as though to defend himself.

“Calm down? Why should I calm down?! To say this was an accident is a lousy excuse. To kiss your best friend’s girlfriend isn’t an accident, it’s a betrayal! From both of you!” Tears were welling up in his eyes as he yelled. He turned and began to walk away, but Tony grabbed his arm.

“Wait, Riff,”

Riff swung around and threw a punch at Tony’s face. The boy stumbled backward, holding his cheek with a hand. Velma gasped and hurried to Tony’s side. Riff stormed away, biting his lip hard and trying his best not to cry.

He didn’t even know why he was so close to crying. He didn’t love Velma. Maybe that was true, but he trusted them both. The thought that Tony and Velma would go behind his back and secretly meet up like that made Riff feel sick. He felt betrayed by some of the closest friends he had.

So he wandered. Wandered the streets instead of grouping up with the rest of the Jet boys. He avoided any familiar faces and went down roads that he rarely went around. Mostly because it was so far away. Either that or because it was “PR territory” as the Jets called it. Turning a corner on the unfamiliar streets, he ran into someone. Both fell to the ground, Riff nearly bashed his head into the brick wall behind him. Opening his eyes after the impact, Riff saw the person he ran into. What a coincidence. Bernardo sat across from him, already struggling to stand up.

“Sorry,” The Puerto Rican said urgently as he began to run again.

Riff blinked once or twice before yelling out: “Wait!” The taller boy turned around just as Riff got back to his feet. “What’s the hurry?”

Bernardo stared at him before his eyes grew wide and he walked back to the American boy. Pushing him into a vacant alleyway, Riff looked up at the boy. “Huh, this seems familiar.” He thought to himself.

“Why are you here?” Bernardo asked, shoving him against the building behind him. Riff winced against the dark brick.

“I was just takin’ a stroll.”

“In my neighborhood,”

“No one owns a certain part of the streets, Bernardo.”

“Sure seems like the Jets think differently.”

“Cool it, ‘Nardo.” Riff paused, finally getting a look at the Puerto Rican. A bruise was peeking out of his shirt and his cheek was red. His eyes were just as glossy as the day before. Something was wrong. “What’s with the bruise? Was it from one of my Jets?”

“Don’t call me ‘Nardo”

“You avoided my question.”

Bernardo paused and hesitated for a second before saying a weak “Yes.”

“You’re a bad liar.”

“I wasn’t-”

“Don’t even try to deny it, now how did you-”

Bernardo put a hand on Riff’s mouth to stop him from talking. Voices loomed from nearby. Two women passed by the alley they were hidden in. Bernardo removed his hand. “We have to talk somewhere else.” He said and began to walk, Riff followed close behind.

Not even a couple blocks down, Riff found himself staring up at a tall apartment complex that Bernardo stopped in front of. The Puerto Rican opened a large and heavy door that revealed many stories of stairs. So the two walked up, up and up. They went up until they couldn’t go up anymore. The roof. By this time, the sun was almost completely away and the moon was taking its place. Lights were turning on inside many skyscrapers and buildings nearby. Bernardo walked to the edge of the building and sat down. He gestured for Riff to follow.

And he did. Riff walked to the edge and sat next to the Puerto Rican. His heart was beating fast, from both the close proximity to Bernardo and the danger of falling from the edge. He took a nervous breath and looked to Bernardo. He was calm, relaxed as they sat.

“This is probably my favorite place in this whole city.” He said.

“It’s beautiful.” Riff agreed, but also had a slight fear of heights. If he leaned too much forward, he would fall. Or worse, Bernardo could push him off. Tearing his eyes from the far away ground, he turned his head to the Puerto Rican.

“Now that we’re here, away from the public eye, would you be willing to tell you what those bruises were about?”

Bernardo stalled, scanning the lit up city. “It was Anita.”

Riff quirked an eyebrow. “What?”

“Anita hit me, yelled, screamed because I tried talking to her.”

“...What did you talk about?”

“I broke up with her.”

“What?!” Riff was surprised. He told Bernardo to talk to Anita, not break up with her. He felt guilty, but deep inside, he was gleeful. Bernardo isn’t dating Anita anymore.

“Yeah, she didn’t take it too well.”

“Why did you break up with her?”

Bernardo didn’t answer, he just looked over the lit up city. “I love this city at night. I go up here whenever I need a break.”

Riff decided not to push him into telling him more. “You ever seen your best friend making out with your girlfriend?” He asked.

“...No?”

“I have. Tony and Velma were snogging behind Doc’s Drugstore today. That’s why I was wandering all around the city today.”

Bernardo looked like he was about to say something, but another voice cut in.

“Bernardo! Are you up here?” It said.

“That’s Anita,” Bernardo said, a hint of panic in his eyes. “You need to hide.”

Riff snapped his head to Bernardo. “Where?!”

Bernardo stood up quickly and helped Riff off the edge of the building, dragging him by the arm to somewhere behind a vent. He quickly told him to stay still and wait until he’s back before another yell was heard from Anita.

“Bernardo, I swear if you’re up there and ignoring me-”

“Si, Anita, solo dame un maldito segundo!” He yells and walks hurriedly away from where Riff sat. Seconds later, he hears the metal door open with a bang and the sound of high heels clacking on the cement rooftop.

“Finally, I’ve found you.” She sighed exasperatedly. Bernardo stayed silent. Riff heard Anita start walking again. “Can we finish our discussion.”

“It wasn’t a discussion, it was a fight,” Bernardo said coldly.

“Why do you want to break up with me?”

“I… have my reasons. I shouldn’t have to explain myself to you. It’s my decision-”

“It’s our decision. You can’t just break up with me without even trying to sort this out.”

“You can’t force me to stay in this relationship. Just accept it. I’m breaking up with you.”

A loud slap sounded quickly after Bernardo’s words. A sniffle and a gasp for air. Riff took the chance to peek over the stainless steel vent. Anita stood in front of Bernardo with a cold stare. Tears were cascading down her cheeks and her hands were balled into fists. Bernardo had a large red spot on his cheek, a handprint.

“You filthy bastard.” She yelled before storming back through the door. You could hear her heels click and clack as she rushed down the stairs. On the rooftop, Bernardo stayed silent. His head was hanging low.

  
Riff stood up and walked slowly to the stiff standing boy, hesitantly placed a hand on his shoulder with a solemn look on his face. The Puerto Rican shrugged it off and walked back to the edge of the building. Riff wasn't able to read his expression.

"Should I go?" Riff asked, tapping his fingers on the edge of the building.

"No," Bernardo responded simply.

Riff stayed quiet after that. Both didn't speak a word but listened to the distant honks of cars. There was a small space separating their shoulders that Riff desperately wanted to close up. He would never admit that to anyone though. So instead, he focused on the slow and steady breathing coming from the other boy.

Inhale.

Exhale.

Inhale.

Pause.

Sigh. 


End file.
